Growing up in Texas, Conner Floyd’s interest in showbiz was sparked by his love affair with movies. “I was a big Harry Potter fan, and I watched all of the Marvel and Jurassic Park films,” shares the actor. “I just loved getting lost in all of these different worlds where my imagination would run wild. When I was in fifth grade, my mom showed me JACKASS, and I tell you, I went crazy for that show. I thought those dudes were the funniest bunch.”
So much so that Floyd and his friends began emulating the reality TV and film franchise by staging nonsensical and dangerous pranks just for amusement. “We used a camcorder to shoot our own stunts, like playing hot potato with a cactus, or putting me in a garbage can and leaving me on someone’s doorstep, and when someone answered the door, I would pop out and scare them,” he chuckles. “Then that evolved into us writing and filming our own scenes and even our own commercials. I got an iMac and an iPhone so I could edit all of this footage, put some music behind them and post them on YouTube. I really enjoyed the whole filmmaking process.”
Soon, Floyd segued into performing. “In middle school, you had to take an arts class, so I started appearing in plays and I loved it,” he enthuses. “However, I would always audition for the role that only had two lines because I would try to make them the greatest two lines that anyone had ever heard. I’d think, ‘Okay, I’m going to get a laugh with these lines,’ even though they weren’t supposed to be funny. I’m sure my teacher absolutely hated me for trying to steal the spotlight.”
That ended with his move into high school, where Floyd, a gifted athlete, was recruited for the football team. “My buddy and I were playing basketball and the coach came up to us and said, ‘Y’all gonna have to quit that. You’re only 6 foot, so there’s no future for you in basketball,’ ” he remembers. “From that point on, football pretty much became my life. There wasn’t any time for acting, so I just accepted that football was my jam.”
Since he was so good on the field, Floyd felt he was expected to make the sport a career. Thanks to admirable grades (“My mom was a teacher, so she made sure I took prep classes and really studied”), he received a full ride to the University of Tulsa, where he filled the positions of both wide receiver and punt returner for the Golden Hurricanes. “I played with some top-of-the-line players and amazing coaches,” he recalls. “Being from Texas, I always had some shade for Oklahoma but I learned to love Tulsa. It’s a great city and I’m really grateful for the time I spent there. I thought the best opportunity for me was to go pro. It’s a tough road but I was confident enough to think that I had a chance if I really put the work in. My focus was getting on a practice squad or some team in Canada.”
His final year of playing college ball had Floyd rethinking his future, and dreams of carving out an acting career in Hollywood began percolating in his head. “I red-shirted so I graduated early and I still had a year of football left, so I was able to take whatever classes I wanted,” he says. “I talked to someone on the board of directors for the theater department and I told her that I was thinking about moving to L.A. She said, ‘Let me get you into classes that might help you.’ So I took a basic acting class, a monologue class, a film study class and a voice class, and I soon fell back in love with acting.”
The 180 wasn’t a hard sell to Floyd’s parents. “My mom and dad are my best friends and have always supported whatever I wanted to do,” he praises. “When I said, ‘Hey, I’m moving out to Hollywood to try acting,’ I expected them to tell me, ‘That’s a terrible idea,’ but they were all for it. After my last ball game in December 2015, I went home for the holidays and two days after Christmas, I packed up my Jeep and drove out to L.A.”
Floyd slept on a friend’s couch for three months before moving into his own place, and realized that jump-starting his acting career was solely up to him. “I was the guy who asked a billion questions if I met anyone I thought could help me,” he recounts. “I started submitting my headshots for everything: commercials, TV roles, print shoots, student films, short films and feature films, even if it wasn’t right for me. I just wanted to get as many credits and as much experience as possible under my name. I knew I just had to get on a set to start learning.”
The submission blitz paid off. “I was getting acting jobs left and right, and built a resumé along with enough footage to throw a reel together that I started sending out to agents,” Floyd explains. “I did so much random stuff that a friend called me at 2 a.m. and said, ‘I’m watching a crime re-enactment show and I think you’re the cop.’ I said, ‘Yep, that’s me.’ When I would see actors on shows that were around my age, I’d find out who their reps were and I’d send my stuff. I received a lot of responses and eventually got signed.”
Jobs on prime-time TV and movies soon followed, which led to some interesting experiences. “I went to Alaska for a whole month to film a movie called Nowhere Alaska,” Floyd recalls. “The director, Cory Carroll, was born and raised in Alaska. We all camped in the woods and Cory taught me how to fly fish. The premise of the movie was that we were wandering through Alaska trying to find someone who was lost, so we were trekking through bear territory, climbing mountains and walking through rivers. It was absolutely amazing and the scenery was unbeatable. My phone didn’t work the whole time and I didn’t even care.”
Daytime was the next genre that Floyd was anxious to conquer. “When the opportunity came up to add such a historic show like YOUNG AND RESTLESS to my credits, I jumped on it,” he declares. “The coolest thing to me was getting to work with these amazing actors who are the cream of the crop and have been there for years. If you surround yourself with people who are better than you, then you, too, will get better.”
After snagging the role of Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV, Floyd was in for a shock. “The first script pages they emailed me, I was like, ‘This is one day? Are they kidding me?’ ” he laughs. “Even with the little movies I’ve done, we’d shoot maybe eight pages a day, but 50, 60 pages a day had me wondering just what are we doing. It’s basically a factory there and they expect you to be prepared, show up and do it the first time. It calls for a lot of homework, which I don’t mind. It’s like being in an acting class that I’m getting paid for. I learn something new every day and I’m sharpening my tools as an actor. I just want to learn as much as I can from these established actors, like Eric Braeden [Victor] and Peter Bergman [Jack], so I can better myself as an artist. I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
The Crew
“The biggest kick I get out of being on this show is that everyone is so nice and welcoming.” Here are Floyd’s shining examples.
Jess Walton (Jill): “When I first met her, she gave me a big hug and said, ‘Oh, you’re alive!’ She immediately calmed my nerves by talking me up. I’ve only gotten to do two scenes with her and she was such a sweetheart. I hope I get to do more. I love her like a grandmother now.”
Melissa Ordway (Abby): “She’s absolutely great and has been showing me the ropes from day one. Whenever I’m on set with her, we have a lot of fun. She’s cracking little jokes and making me laugh, even though I’m supposed to be depressed.”
Bryton James (Devon): “He’s so talented and my lead-by-example guy. He’s been nothing but helpful and he’s really fun to hang out with off set. He’s a cool dude and a fantastic actor.”
Jordi Vilasuso (Rey): “I love working with Jordi and I hope we get to play more buddy-cop stuff. I’m sure that’ll happen when Chance gets out of his funk and is more himself. I love joking around with Jordi.”
Tricia Cast (Nina): “We have yet to work together in the same room, but I met her at the Y&R Christmas party and said, ‘Hi, Mom.’ She’s wonderful. Those video chats between Chance and Nina, Tricia recorded her part at home, while someone fed her my lines.”
Just The Facts
Birthday: October 20
From Point A To Point B: The actor was born in Arlington, TX, and raised in Austin.
Higher Learning: While playing college ball, Floyd took business courses, but “sitting in those classes felt like I was learning Chinese. Luckily, I had a couple of buddies who were numbers savvy, so they helped me get through. I’ve got a business marketing degree that I know I’ll never use.”
Relationship Status: Happily dating Carly Frei (pronounced “fry”). “She’s a super-smart, super-sweet girl who has her own spray tan company. I met her on Valentine’s Day a couple of years ago through a mutual friend. We crossed paths at the right time and just clicked.”
But While He Loves Outdoor Activities… “She is definitely a homebody, and sometimes I have to drag her outside. She has a pool at her house and I always ask, ‘Why aren’t we out there right now? The sun is shining, girl!’ ”
High Strung: Although he plays guitar, he doesn’t write his own songs. “I want to play like Eddie Van Halen before getting into that.” And when it comes to singing, “I’d like to be a little better. You know how it is when you’re in the shower or in your car and you’re like, ‘Oh, wow. I actually hit that note’? Then I go home and try to sing the same song on my guitar and I realize, ‘No, I really shouldn’t.’ ”
